The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

"Great Ancestor, don't you find it quite unbelievable?"

"Speaking of which, I just remembered an interesting story. It is said that there was a monk named Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty who wanted to go to the Western Regions to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Guess what happened?"

Old Zhu suddenly thought of something and said with a smile.

"Going to the Western Regions to obtain Buddhist scriptures? If the Turkic rebellion hadn't been quelled, wouldn't it have been forbidden to go?"

Liu Bang thought for a moment and said.

"You guessed right, but Xuanzang was also a stubborn man. If you didn't let him go, he would go secretly. It is said that he went through many hardships along the way, but he also gained the admiration of many people, including some high-ranking officials."

"And the one with the highest position was the king of Gaochang."

"There are scattered records that the King of Gaochang greatly admired Xuanzang and wanted him to stay and become the national teacher. However, Xuanzang refused, so they eventually became sworn brothers and agreed that he would preach in Gaochang for three years after returning."

"Who would have thought that when Xuanzang returned, the Kingdom of Gaochang had become Gaochang County and was under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty."

Liu Bang: “…”

What kind of hellish joke is this?

Just as Old Zhu finished speaking, Zhao Kuangyin continued.

"That's nothing. It's fortunate that Xuanzang went early. If he had gone any later, even India would have been almost destroyed by Wang Xuance."

Li Er simply smiled and remained silent as he listened to these people's words.

Liu Bang, however, was completely bewildered.

It's really thanks to Xuanzang secretly sneaking out on his own. If he had gone any later, going to India to obtain scriptures would have been the same as obtaining scriptures within the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Che was so engrossed in watching it that his eyes almost sparkled with stars.

"That's how it should be!"

Although they were not monarchs of the same dynasty, that did not prevent him from appreciating them.

The only way to deal with enemies who are never satisfied and may seize any opportunity to invade our borders is to eliminate them once and for all!

"However, it must be said that Li Er was too confident in his descendants. What he did was somewhat different from what you, Emperor Wu of Han, did."

Zhao Kuangyin sighed, seemingly with some regret.

"indeed."

Old Zhu agreed with this point.

"The reason why Emperor Wu of Han was known for his aggressive and militaristic policies, which depleted the national treasury the more he fought, was ultimately because he was waging wars that would lead to the destruction of the country and the extinction of the race."

"The result of leaving no one alive in the enemy country is that our side consumes just as much money and food as we lose people."

"While he was indeed a warmonger, every inch of land he conquered was truly incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty. It is precisely for this reason that he can be described as having committed a crime in his own time, but his merits will last for generations!"

In contrast, Li Er also waged wars in all directions, and the total number of battles, large and small, was even greater than that of Liu Che.

However, the economy and population of the Tang Dynasty did not collapse at all; on the contrary, they became even more prosperous.

The biggest difference is that Li Er rarely launched wars that would lead to the destruction of a country and the extermination of its people.

In most cases, he would choose to beat people into submission, forcing them to obediently offer up all the gold and silver treasures of the country and become vassals and pay tribute.

Those kingdoms that were directly incorporated into the Tang Dynasty, like Gaochang, were ultimately few and far between.

More often than not, the Tang Dynasty treated its neighboring vassal states quite well, not only through intermarriage but also by the transmission of many Central Plains crafts.

This foreshadowed the repeated defeats suffered by the Song Dynasty in later generations.

Why was the Han Dynasty so powerful in the past?

Clearly, Han Chinese were at a disadvantage in height and build compared to non-Han peoples, and their horsemanship was far inferior.

Even under these circumstances, at the end of the Han Dynasty, they could still shout that one Han man was worth five barbarians!

The difference lies in the fact that the craftsmanship of forging weapons and armor in the Central Plains is far superior to that of the small countries outside the Great Wall.

Therefore, even after the fall of the Han Dynasty, it still maintained a strong stance in its wars against foreign powers until its demise.

Even when many heroes rose up, they were still able to use the countries outside the Great Wall as practice grounds.

If it weren't for the War of the Eight Princes in the Jin Dynasty, which completely depleted the remaining strength of the Central Plains, the border would have been virtually impregnable!

But it ended up in Li Er's hands.

He was too confident.

They almost completely unguardedly passed on their technological expertise to their vassal states.

He felt that no matter what those vassal states had learned, they couldn't change anything in his hands.

Indeed, during his reign, the Tang Dynasty only ever conquered other countries; he never truly suffered a loss.

Even when he launched an expedition against Goguryeo and only captured ten cities, he felt that he had suffered a loss.

But he never thought about what would happen to him after he died.

Could every emperor of the Tang Dynasty be like him?

"This……"

Seeing that even Zhu Yuanzhang somewhat agreed with Zhao Kuangyin's words, Li Er couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Is it really a mistake to pass on those techniques?

"Tell me, have I done something wrong?"

He looked down at the officials below him.

Of course, no one would dare to respond.

It is common knowledge that an emperor can acknowledge and correct his mistakes, but he cannot admit them.

Li Er didn't expect them to provide an answer; he simply watched quietly as they continued their heated discussion in the sky.

"At least in my opinion, Li Er did nothing wrong."

"Whether it's intermarriage or sharing of crafts, those are privileges reserved for vassal states."

"What is a vassal state? It is one that acknowledges you as the Heavenly Khan, pays tribute of a large number of rare and precious treasures every year, and you have the power to directly replace its king."

"Gentlemen, ask yourselves honestly, if all the small countries around you were this obedient and compliant, what would you choose?"

As the saying goes, don't hit someone with a smiling face.

The small countries surrounding Li Er were no longer smiling people; they were all servile and obsequious.

He said something harsh, and even envoys from small countries would have to live in fear and trembling before their kings for a whole year afterward.

How much apprehension do you expect him to have in this situation?

Zhao Kuangyin thought for a moment and then fell silent.

If the Jin dynasty did the same thing to him, then...

"Zhao Heizi, don't even think about it. Your descendants have all bowed down to the Jurchens."

"It's a pity that the Jurchens don't understand the saying 'Don't hit a smiling face.' They kept sending tribute and bowing down to the Jurchens, practically recognizing them as their fathers. But they still got beaten up."

Old Zhu didn't miss a single opportunity to make sarcastic remarks.

What's wrong with comparing and contrasting?

You have the ability to do it, but you can't let people talk about it?

In an instant, Zhao Kuangyin's face turned green again.

Why the hell does Zhu Yuanzhang hate the Song Dynasty so much?

Logically speaking, the two were separated by at least one dynasty, so where did this great enmity come from!

They're still holding on tight!

"Old Zhu, tell me the truth, what grudge do you hold against me? You always seize every opportunity to make sarcastic remarks. What, does mocking me benefit you?"

"Hehe, if it makes you uncomfortable, then I'm comfortable."

Old Zhu said irritably.

"If the Tang or Han dynasties were in the era of your Song dynasty, would the Mongol Yuan dynasty have had a chance?"

"In other words, you knelt before this and that until you were all gone, allowing the Mongol Yuan dynasty to sweep across the land, causing the people of the Central Plains to suffer greatly!"

What does it feel like to watch your whole family starve to death?

Why don't you let Zhao Heizi give it a try too?